Replace Radiator\"s

Bill L.

A neighbor of mine has an oil-fired boiler that feeds a radiator heating system..I believe it is a gravity sytem (only one pipe going to each radiator...no return pipe). He wants to know if there is any way to replace these radiators with something else. He suggested baseboard heat, but I think that will be out of his price range, as far as all new piping.
My question is this....Is there any type of heating appliance that can be connected to...or retro-fitted to the gravity feed, or single pipe feed system that he has now? Or would he have to pretty much replace all of the components?
Just a note...there is nothing wrong with his heating sytem, other than the fat that his radiators take up so much room in such a small house. And the fact that he cant really controlthe heat very well.
Thanks for ny help...Bill

mpurai

steam boiler psi

i have a steam boiler which never reaches more than 4 on the psi guage. I've been experiencing problems that the thermostat never reads 70 degrees even when set at 80. Can the problem be in thte boiler setting?? Any help would be appreciated, Thanks

Boilerpro_3

A suggestion

If a complete and proper heat loss is calculated for each room of the home, it is very likely that the radiators could be downsized. This is especially true if the home has been insulated, storm windows added, and general tightening up done.

As an example, my own home, which was gravity hot water, had 906 EDR (a measure of the size of radiator heating capacity) and with the thermal upgrades that have been completed, now only needs 350 EDR.
However, if the radiators are downsized, it may be necessary to make changes to the boiler's firing rate so it operates well with the system.

Boilerpro

Boilerpro_3

A suggestion

If a complete and proper heat loss is calculated for each room of the home, it is very likely that the radiators could be downsized. This is especially true if the home has been insulated, storm windows added, and general tightening up done.

As an example, my own home, which was gravity hot water, had 906 EDR (a measure of the size of radiator heating capacity) and with the thermal upgrades that have been completed, now only needs 350 EDR.
However, if the radiators are downsized, it may be necessary to make changes to the boiler's firing rate so it operates well with the system.

Boilerpro

Steamhead

4 pounds is 3 too many

in a residential steam system. Sounds like you have an air venting problem. If the air can't get out, the steam can't get in.

Try the Find a Professional page of this site to locate a steam man near you. If you're in the Baltimore area, e-mail me.

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